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Pharmacological Tests (pharmacological + test)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	40%
Chemistry	40%

Selected Abstracts

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes by rhein in rat liver microsomes

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009
Jing-cheng Tang
Abstract Rhein, an active ingredient extensively found in plants such as Aloe, Cassitora L., rhubarb and so on, has been used for a long time in China. Pharmacological tests revealed that rhein not only had a strong antibacterial action, but also may be useful in cancer chemotherapy as a biochemical modulator. Its therapeutic action and toxicity is still the subject of considerable research. With microsome incubation assays in vitro and HPLC methods, the inhibition of rat liver CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, CYP2E1 and CYP3A enzymes by rhein were studied kinetically. The results showed the most inhibition of CYP2E1 by rhein (Ki = 10 µm, mixed); CYP3A and CYP2C9 were also inhibited by rhein, Ki = 30 µm (mixed) and Ki = 38 µm (mixed), respectively; rhein revealed some inhibition of CYP1A2 (Ki = 62 µm, uncompetitive) and CYP2D6 (Ki = 74 µm, mixed). Drug,drug interactions, especially cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated interactions, cause an enhancement or attenuation in the efficacy of co-administered drugs. Inhibition of the five major CYP enzymes observed for rhein suggested that changes in pharmacokinetics of co-administered drugs were likely to occur. Therefore, caution should be paid to the possible drug interaction of medicinal plants containing rhein and CYP substrates. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Full Stomach Test as a Novel Diagnostic Technique for Identifying Patients at Risk of Brugada Syndrome

JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006
F.A.C.C., Ph.D., TAKANORI IKEDA M.D.
Introduction: Autonomic modulation, particularly high vagal tone, plays an important role in the occurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in the Brugada syndrome. Food intake modulates vagal activity. We assessed the usefulness of a novel diagnostic technique, the "full stomach test," for identifying a high-risk group in patients with a Brugada-type electrocardiogram (ECG). Methods and Results: In 35 patients with a Brugada-type ECG, we assessed 12-lead ECGs before and after a large meal, a pilsicainide pharmacological test, spontaneous ST-segment change, late potentials by signal-averaged ECG, microvolt T-wave alternans, and four other ECG parameters. These patients were divided into two groups (i.e., high-risk group [n = 17] and indeterminate risk group [n = 18]). The full stomach test was defined as positive when augmentation of characteristic ECG abnormalities was observed after meals. Thirteen patients had a prior history of life-threatening events such as aborted sudden death and syncope, with a total of 30 episodes. These episodes had a circadian pattern, at night and after meals. The full stomach test was positive in 17 of the study patients (49%). A positive test outcome was characterized by a higher incidence of a history of life-threatening events than a negative test outcome (P = 0.015, odds ratio = 7.1). In comparison between the two groups, the incidence (82%) of positive outcomes in the high-risk group was significantly higher than that (17%) in the indeterminate risk group (P = 0.0002). Conclusions: Characteristic ECG changes diagnostic of Brugada syndrome are augmented by a large meal. These data are associated with a history of life-threatening events in Brugada syndrome. [source]

A model of thalamocortical relay cells

THE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2005
Paul A. Rhodes
It is well established that the main intrinsic electrophysiological properties of thalamocortical relay cells, production of a low threshold burst upon release from hyperpolarized potential and production of a train of single spikes following stimulation from depolarized potentials, can be readily modelled using a single compartment. There is, however, another less well explored intrinsic electrophysiological characteristic of relay cells for which models have not yet accounted: at somatic potentials near spike threshold, relay cells produce a fast ragged high threshold oscillation in somatic voltage. Optical [Ca2+] imaging and pharmacological tests indicate that this oscillation correlates with a high threshold Ca2+ current in the dendrites. Here we present the development of a new compartment model of the thalamic relay cell guided by the simultaneous constraints that it must produce the familiar regular spiking relay mode and low threshold rebound bursts which characterize these cells, as well as the less-studied fast oscillation occurring at near-threshold somatic potentials. We arrive at a model cell which is capable of the production of isolated high threshold Ca2+ spikes in distal branch segments, driven by a rapidly inactivating intermediate threshold Ca2+ channel. Further, the model produces the low threshold spike behaviour of the relay cell without requiring high T-current density in the distal dendritic segments. The results thus support a new picture of the dendritic tree of relay cells which may have implications for the manner in which thalamic relay cells integrate descending input from the cortex. [source]

Synthesis and Biological Studies of N -Alkylated Cyclic Diamines

CHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY, Issue 1 2007
Xiao-Qin Xiong
Abstract Several alkyl-substituted mesocyclic diamines were synthesized, and their interaction with DNA were studied by melting-temperature measurements and the ethidium bromide (EB)-fluorescence competitive method. The supercoiled DNA hydrolytic cleavage by 1,4-dioctyl-1,4-diazepan-6-ol (4) was supported by the evidence from free-radical quenching and T4-ligase ligation. Preliminary pharmacological tests showed that only 1,4-dioctyl-1,4-diazepan-6-ol (4) had antitumor activity against HeLa cell lines in vitro. [source]

Design and Synthesis of Cyclopeptide Analogues of the Potent Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor FR235222

CHEMMEDCHEM, Issue 10 2007
Luigi Gomez-Paloma Prof.
Abstract Various structurally modified analogues of FR235222 (1), a natural tetrapeptide inhibitor of mammalian histone deacetylases, were prepared in a convergent approach. The design of the compounds was aimed to investigate the effect of structural modifications of the tetrapeptide core involved in enzyme binding in order to overcome some synthetic difficulties connected with the natural product 1. The modifications introduced could also help identify key structural features involved in the mechanism of action of these compounds. The prepared molecules were subjected to in,vitro pharmacological tests, and their potency was tested on cultured cells. Two of the components of the array were found to be more potent than the parent compound 1 and almost as efficient as trichostatin,A (TSA). These results demonstrate that it is possible to synthesize highly active cyclic tetrapeptides using commercially available amino acids (with the exception of 2-amino-8-oxodecanoic acid, Ahoda). The nature of the residue in the second position of the cyclic peptide and the stereochemistry of the Ahoda tail are important for the inhibitory activity of this class of cyclic tetrapeptide analogues. [source]